Abasi and The Hunt
by redcard
Summary: A young lion learns that sometimes the answers he seeks are not so easy to find.
1. Introduction

The mandrill approached Pride Rock shortly after Mohatu's sparring lesson had ended, and Mohatu watched him, eyes brimming with curiosity and wonder. The lion cub who would be king was bridging the gap between childhood and adolescence, and his lessons on ruling a kingdom were now coming every day. Between hunting in the morning with the pride, and sparring in the evening with his father, Mohatu's days were long and tireless. However this was the time that Mohatu loved most. It was nighttime, and after the sun had set Sudi would teach Mohatu of the stories of the past kings.

Sudi loved these stories, and could not help but embellish them a bit. Everytime they were told, some small facts here and there were changed. Each one of them, though, had a moral from the great kings of the past. While Mohatu's earlier lessons were to make him physically strong enough to be king, the purpose of these stories were to give him the wisdom to rule. It was a tradition as old as time. As the sun dipped below the horizon and the great kings began to shine down on them, Sudi began to chant an evening prayer. Mohatu didn't understand the prayer, so he ignored it, focusing instead on grooming over his paw.

"So, young prince. Tonight I have a story of bravery."

Mohatu looked up hopefully, "And death?"

Sudi chuckled, as the sky turned to darkness and the stars that had become burning lanterns in the void. "Maybe, Prince Mohatu. Maybe indeed."

"Cool!" was the only answer from Mohatu. He liked stories that involved fights, and chivalry, and death, and honor, and glory. He hoped his kingship would be filled with such stories of him coming out on the side of right each time. "Who's it about?"

The mandrill gazed into the sky, and pointed up to the star just cresting over the top of Pride Rock. "That one, Mohatu. That one right there. That is Abasi's star. Long ago, before your father was born, before I was born, before Pride Rock was home to you, Abasi lived. He lived, and he died, and now he looks down on us."

"He was a great king, Sudi?"

"Yes, my prince. He was a great king. But I'm not going to tell you about when he was king. I'm going to tell you about when he was a cub. A time before he became a great king." Sudi looked straight at Mohatu, eyes peering deep. "Because that is when Abasi almost lost his chance to become a great king."

Sudi sat down, and looked back to the star, mumbling another silent prayer. He looked over to Mohatu, who had now settled down and was following him with rapt attention. "And so begins, Mohatu, the story of Abasi and the Hunt."


	2. Chapter 1

Abasi found himself perplexed as he stared off into the distance. He was reaching the end of cub hood, and was at an awkward phase. His paws were too big. His gait was too small. He found himself at times interested in the lionesses, and at times disgusted by them and their games. His mane was coming in haphazardly; his voice fluctuated on the momentary changes of the wind. Through all this, though, Abasi had no choice but to cope. The rest of the pride found this to be a humorous time for both him and his brother, but the two were inseparable. As younger cubs, this meant trouble of that scale was available. Now that they were older, the magnitude of trouble that Abasi and Jasiri got into was growing. The fact that they were nearly identical meant that they sometimes even got away with it.

"Hey, Jasiri! You remember what Dad said about that place with the rocks?"

Jasiri's eyes brightened. "You mean the one with that rock that looks like a-"

"Yeah, that one! Let's go there."

While Jasiri and Abasi were identical in appearance, there was a fundamental difference between the two. Jasiri participated in trouble he thought he could get away with. Abasi participated in trouble without distinction. It was because of this difference that the two were exceptionally good at making mischief.

"Well, we could say that we were practicing hunting and lost track of where we were" Jasiri mused. "That way, if we get caught, we won't get in too much trouble."

Abasi snorted and flicked his tail. "That's all you ever think about. How we can get caught. You know, if you didn't focus on that, maybe it wouldn't happen as much. Remember the time with the bird and the zebra?"

Jasiri's ears flattened against his head. "Hey, look, that could have happened to anyone. How was I supposed to know that a lioness would follow us?"

"Yeah, well, because of that lioness, and that stupid bird, I couldn't sit for a week." Abasi turned to bat at his brother's side. "And all because you had a stupid excuse."

"Hey! Dad would have bought it if you hadn't laughed and stuck to the script!"

The brothers tussled back and forth about their exploits for awhile, all the time moving further and further away from the pride and closer to border of their pridelands.

It was nearly midday when they reached the edge of the pride's territory, and off in the far distance, they could see the strange looking rock outcropping.

"Oh wow, we found it, Abasi!"

Suddenly, a rustle from the bushes behind them made the two cubs jump. They scooted against each other, eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. Could they actually be on hyena territory? This should be the border, or near enough of it. Their ears perked as they tried to listen to what was coming. Another rustle sent shivers through them, and Abasi arched his back, in fear and anticipation. Out from the bushes bounded a young lioness, a hearty grin on her face.

"Jeeze, 'Beya, you just about scared us to death!" Jasiri pounced at her. "What'd you do, follow us all the way out here?"

She snorted, and licked at her paws gently. "Of course. You boys are so easy to stalk. Amateurs."

Abasi scowled, "You must be kidding. We knew you were behind us all along. We just didn't want to let on."

Umbeya pushed between the two, and gestured her nose towards the rocks. "You going there? I heard it was haunted. If you want to go to some stupid haunted rocks, go ahead, but I wouldn't do it if I were you."

The two brothers looked at each other. What was once a threat to them in younger age was more or less a curiosity now. An awesome rock outcropping and ghosts? This was too good to pass up. Their eyes said it all as they passed this information back and forth in silent conversation. Umbeya, as good as causing trouble as either of them picked it up. She grinned as well.

"Crazy. That's what you two are. You're crazy. You expect me to just go along with you?"

They nodded in almost perfect synchronicity. She hated when they did that.

"But it's beyond our borders. We're right at our borders now. If we take just ten more steps, we're in hyena territory," Umbeya said. "Besides, what if I were followed by hyenas or something? What if they are watching us now?"

Almost in perfect timing, a cackling laugh came from behind her. The bushes rustled, and all three cubs jumped. A large lion, mane fully grown out, parted the bushes and trampled them under his paw. He glared at the three cubs, who seemed to shrink under his steady gaze. It was the king, Sadiki. He looked between the three cubs, trying to decide which to talk to first. Sadiki was a younger king, and these three were from the first generation of cubs in his pride. He was still learning how to be a father, and yet give his cubs space to grow and explore.

Abasi made the choice for him, and looked up at his father. "Hi Dad. I was just showing Umbeya the-"

"Silence, Abasi." Sadiki spoke sternly. "I know what you were doing."

Abasi's ears lowered, and he shot a glance to Jasiri, who backed up a bit.

"As for you three, whose idea was it to go there?"

Umbeya turned to look at Jasiri and Abasi, and mouthed a silent apology. She turned back to the king and spoke. "Sir, I just.. I just followed them, but I don't think they were going to go any further… just to the edge, just to look at it."

Sadiki smiled a coy, wry smile. "Good, because if they were going to go further, if any of you three were going to go further, and if something were to happen, your mothers would tan me. And if I got a hold of you, I'd tan you. But now, let's go home."

Jasiri now strode up to his father and mewed hopefully, "We're not in trouble, are we, Dad?" He bumped his father's leg with his head.

"No son. But you will find that a lioness will probably be following you three for the next moon. Now, home!"

The four walked home in silence, with Abasi occasionally glancing over his shoulder at the strange rock. One day, he thought. One day, I will be King, and that will be my home.


End file.
